Dreams Don’t Come Gift Wrapped

Daily writing prompt If you had to give one life-changing tip, what would it be? View all responses I'm scared for my sons in so many different ways. I'm scared that I can't provide for them. I'm scared that I've let my own trauma nest and thrive in their souls before they journeyed out into the world. I'm scared that we have so thoroughly obliterated the environment that they'll permanently have a horizon of ash and smoke for an evening sky.

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The Greenland Diaries: Day 69

Before I can talk about today and last night after our little skirmish with the Unnamed, I should elaborate about what occurred after we killed the daylight-walking fiend. The branches started to roar, like a hurricane had been shackled between their leafy arms and suddenly released. The gust howled around us, circling the playground and vines. We immediately jumped off the playground and ran towards home.

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Beware the Ills: Part 54

The snow is falling harder now, much harder, like it wants us to stop and remember the higher forces above our feuds. The forest looks bright and flourishing as I charge into it. It’s beautiful and endless. I could watch and witness it every day, knowing the end was near. I’m running out to him. I cannot meet him in direct combat right away.

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The Wall: A Poem About Inheritance, Trauma, and Parenthood

Don’t worry my sons,you won’t be like me. In the DBT classevery tuesday night withother healing pincushionsrelearning how to think and feeleach basic reality, after life,the tornado, mangled youin its timeless wake. Or sitting on the High Bridgejealous of city lightsneon and edged along skyscraper spines,alive and brightmaking me ponder how long…

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“Life is suffering. It is hard. The world is cursed, but still, you find reasons to keep living.”

Daily writing prompt Do you think everything happens for a reason? View all responses I did not write that line. I directly quoted it from Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki. It is spoken by a leper, who talks fondly of the woman (a warrior/warlord named Lady Oboshi) who actually treats the lepers in this world and story like human beings. …

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The Greenland Diaries: Day 68

Nothing ever goes according to plan. I'll start again with last night. Not much actually changed. More darkness, drums, and illusions. More crying from Gerald, hushes by me, and whines out of Snowy. In the morning, we immediately started walking towards Crystal Lake, which was the earlier site of the daylight Unnamed. We moved carefully and slowly, just in case the monster was waiting for us in some sort of bizarre ambush.

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Visit me at the Curious Crow Summer Bazaar 7/26

My second to last event of the summer is here. Now that CONvergence is done, I'll be heading towards Circle Pines and the Curious Crow for their summer bazaar and vendor market. What is the Curious Crow? Well, it is an awesome gaming store and event space in the north loop of the Twin Cities. You can learn about the Curious Crow right here…

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Beware the Ills: Part 53

“I want you to leave,” I say quickly. She stares at me. “I want you to tell whoever sent you there is nothing here, but monsters and killers. There is no treasure, no magic, no sacred city, just timeless devils.” She stares at me some more. She’s confused by me. “You’d think someone who has been physically altered to become a war weapon would have some incentive.”

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Free Kindle Book: Short Story Collection of Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction

This week on my free book giveaway it is my short story collection Monsters, Monsters, Everywhere. This is a recently updated, revised, and rereleased. There are a variety of genres, monsters, and parallel emotions in this collection. Each story stands on its own. Free today through Sunday on the Kindle. Get. It. Now. Description below: An ancient werewolf laments his annual, blood-soaked pilgrimage.

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That Old Neighborhood: A Poem About Memory, Change, and Nostalgia

The stoplight, tall and ivy-wrappedbeside the solemn intersectionpierced with headlight spears and glitter.The nearby overpass a floating slabmarked by howling trucks we’ddream of buying when we got older. Further up by Joe’s house,the streetlight dangled an orange crownperfect for us to wrestle, throw baseballsyell at semis, and occasionally talkas if nobody were listening…

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How Much Will Your Life be Worth Before it is Born?

Daily writing prompt What’s a piece of technology you’re convinced will exist in 20 years? View all responses I wanted to go with floating cars, cities built on clouds, and random zeppelins cruising over jet-black downtowns with endless rain like in Bladerunner. I couldn't fully commit to that idea since I worked at a bank for many years and people fought debit cards and online banking tooth and nail.

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The Greenland Diaries: Day 67

I wish I could think of one single thing to say to Gerald to help ease his mind about what's happened in the last twelve hours. In just one day, the entire colony was destroyed and hopelessness returned. I just don't know what to say. Last night was sad and awkward. I wanted to tell him in the thick air of my shed it was going to be okay, and more colonies would get established.

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Beware the Ills: Part 52

They’re all taken down except for her. She is the only one left. She is the only one left. I run. I’ll have to jump at him for leverage. I admit, I’m a bit intimidated by Haukter. I break from the forest and the hill overlooking the river. He doesn’t see me sprinting. I think, humorously enough, he’s captivated by the woman.

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The Greenland Diaries: Days 101 – 140 — Apocalyptic Horror Free on the Kindle

For this week, the second book in my popular apocalyptic horror series The Greenland Diaries: Days 101 - 140 is free on the Kindle. The book is available for the cheap price of NOTHING, today through Sunday. Out of the whole series, this is the most horror-max book. It is not for the faint of heart. The monsters really push it.

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The Tail of the Comet: A Poem About Emotions, Trauma, and the Weight We Carry

I’m pulled, tugged, ripped,chained to feeling,in its rawest form,a perpetual gravity of emotion.Instinct, sadness, happiness,the perfect storm, never-ending.I wish it would be silent,an old, ivy-heavy graveyard at midnight. My therapist gave it many titles,depression, anxiety, trauma, PTSD.Rage and love toward everyone and everything,from empty streetlights to my beautiful sons.It was failed lovers, friends,

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A Chase with no Ending Mark

Daily writing prompt Do you think we’re shaped more by our experiences or by who we are? View all responses What a question. Had to attempt to "answer" it. Not that I could ever complete such an answer. This variation of the classic nature vs nurture argument can't be solved in a blog post, but I'll at least give it some momentum with my own perspective.

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The Greenland Diaries: Day 66

I'll start with last night when Gerald and I hid inside my shed during the Drum. The illusions glowed, and the night air was filled with the sounds of music, cars, and kitchen lights. I even heard whistling in the darkness. Gerald hadn't been part of the dream-darkness yet. Luckily, he was in better spirits and health thanks to the colony, so he could grapple with the strange set of emotions you feel upon witnessing the pre-drum world rise out of the deep.

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Beware the Ills: Part 51

They’re not far ahead of me. I will meet them soon. I have not thought about the outcome yet; specifically, how I will spare her, and how I will kill Haukter. I really don’t have any answers on how I will accomplish these things. I can only theorize and act on instinct. I’m in the forest now. I’ve just cleared the outskirts of the Shingles.

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I Can’t Change the Sunlight: A Poem About Depression, Memory, and Sunlight

First, the beams between dust,highlighting particles dancingin my parents’ basement.Chocolate carpet above an eyebrow windowwhere we, old friends and lovers,would swap dreams and desiresuntil you tearfully realizedI couldn’t do anythingbut wrestle with my depression. Then, rays of it glittering and jeweledduring our honeymoonin an emerald lagoon,with tropic tips and bows of sand…

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Waikiki

Daily writing prompt If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? View all responses If I could live anywhere in the world, it would be Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii. I feel like someplace tropical and beautiful would be the common choice for most people if given this option, at least most people from Minnesota like myself. My identity has been forged, hammered, and constructed in the shadow of brutal cold and winters.

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The Greenland Diaries: Day 65

I spent all last night giving Snowy teaspoons of Benadryl. Her ears look the worst from the allergic reaction, they're raw with red sores, which look like they could pop open from the slightest turn of her head. She slept through the night fine thanks to the medicine. I wish I knew how much to give her, and how often. You take for granted all this knowledge when you have no access to it.

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Visit me at CONvergence 2026

Okay, well, that year passed quickly. Back at CONvergence 2026. Yeah, that was insanely fast. I'll be back in the vending room selling my books and talking monsters. If you haven't been to CONvergence, it is pretty much an amazing convention. I love it dearly. Been selling books and attending for many years now. It is a great celebration of diversity and geekdom.

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Free Book Day: The Greenland Diaries Days 1 – 100

Hello all, I'm back with a free Kindle book giveaway to gear up for CONvergence 2026, which I'll be attending in just a few days. I'm offering my most popular work, and the gateway to my apocalyptic horror series, the Greenland Diaries: Days 1 - 100 for FREE on the Kindle for the next three days. This book has been revised, restructured, and rebuilt into the most effective, found journal horror experience you can imagine.

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Vitamin “No”

Daily writing prompt What do you love now, that you hated when you were younger? View all responses Ugh, when I as younger I had very little emotional discipline and regulation. This made me basically say "yes" to so many things I should have said "no" to. I was so consumed with wanting to fit in or be included, it completely warped my sense of "yes" or "no."

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The Greenland Diaries: Day 64

There was rain last night, which I was thankful for, since I needed to collect the rainwater and store it. The thunderstorm surprised us, and soon the walls of the shed were rattling against the winds. I thought it was going to come apart against the thrashing, and flutter into the darkness like a pair of metal wings. Snowy and I would be left alone in the maelstrom, and she'd probably run off into the rain.

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Beware the Ills: Part 49

I can’t leap, dodge, or bend. We’re completely vulnerable here, since the building behind me has crumbled, and there are too many arrows in the sky. There are screams behind the machine. Four Ills have crawled onto it from behind as the machine roars. One falls in front of the jutting chest and is melted to pieces by the growing energy.

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The Stars — A New Poem

Believe me, these starswere meant for youand not for me. They’re below the ceiling edgestaring at me.A plastic, neon-star echosung from a leftover child’s bedroom.The previous family was surely happy,connected, and complete.The type with snug bedtime stories,and fresh snow on Christmas. I only notice them at night,when my lights are out,

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Hold on to the Weird

Daily writing prompt What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you? View all responses Just hold on to it. The weird can be slippery. An eel fresh out of a burrow of mud. A game controller after a buddy used it after a long game of Goldeneye on the N64. You knew how use remote mines as projectiles and killed him from a distance.

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The Greenland Diaries: Day 63

I didn't sleep last night, and I couldn't nap during the day. My feet hurt from standing and walking around. Snowy has been able to sleep just fine, like nothing bothered her. Watching those people die last night in the darkness, getting carved up by the Unnamed, was terrifying. It'd been a while since I'd watched them rip people apart like clay.

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Beware the Ills: Part 48

This combat’s getting tiring. I won’t be able to beat her with my normal method of strength and speed. She’s more disciplined in this rage. I cannot outfight her physically, she’s my equal. I’m still a little weak from Haukter’s poison. What a fantastic concoction. More clatter, clashing, and smashing. We break from the mountain edges. She follows me, and swings at my back vertically in a leaping strike.

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